​JOHN II. (1397-1479), king of Aragon, son of Ferdinand I. and
of his wife Eleanor of Albuquerque, born on the 29th of June
1397, was one of the most stirring and most unscrupulous kings
of the 15th century. In his youth he was one of the infantes
(princes) of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile
during the minority and reign of John II. Till middle life he was
also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor
Alphonso V., whose reign was mainly spent in Italy. In his old
age he was engaged in incessant conflicts with his Aragonese and
Catalan subjects, with Louis XI. of France, and in preparing the
way for the marriage of his son Ferdinand with Isabella of Castile,
which brought about the union of the crowns. His troubles
with his subjects were closely connected with the tragic dissensions
in his own family. John was first married to Blanche of Navarre,
of the house of Evreux. By right of Blanche he became king
of Navarre, and on her death in 1441 he was left in possession
of the kingdom for his life. But a son Charles, called, as heir of
Navarre, prince of Viana, had been born of the marriage. John
from the first regarded his son with jealousy, which after his
second marriage with Ioan Henriquez, and under her influence,
grew into absolute hatred. He endeavoured to deprive his son
of his constitutional right to act as lieutenant-general of Aragon
during his father's absence. The cause of the son was taken up
by the Aragonese, and the king's attempt to join his second wife
in the lieutenant-generalship was set aside. There followed a
long conflict, with alternations of success and defeat, which was
not terminated till the death of the prince of Viana, perhaps by
poison given him by his stepmother, in 1461. The Catalans,
who had adopted the cause of Charles and who had grievances of
their own, called in a succession of foreign pretenders. In conflict
with these the last years of King John were spent. He was
forced to pawn Rousillon, his possession on the north-east of the
Pyrenees, to Louis XI., who refused to part with it. In his old
age he was blinded by cataract, but recovered his eyesight by the
operation of couching. The Catalan revolt was pacified in 1472,
but John had war, in which he was generally unfortunate, with
his neighbour the French king till his death on the zoth of
January 1479. He was succeeded by Ferdinand, his son by his
second marriage, who was already associated with his wifelsabella
as joint sovereign of Castile.

For the history, see Rivadeneyra, “ Cronicas de los reyes de Castilla, " Biblioteca de autores espanoles, vols. lxvi, lxviii (Madrid,
1845, &c.); G. Zurita, Anales de Aragon (Saragossa, 1610). The
reign of John ll. of Aragon is largely dealt with in W. H. Prescott's
History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella (1854).